The Road of the Seven Lakes

This is a special article on one of the most beautiful journeys
around the country: the Seven Lakes' road. Nature slowly comes back
to life, flowers show up as a miracle that has remained hidden under
the snow, the forest wakes up filled with colors and the sound of
singing birds. All that beauty is there, waiting for you, framed
by a road that joins Villa La Angostura with San Martin de Los Andes

You
can start the Seven Lakes' road either from Bariloche
or from San Martin de
Los Andes. It goes through all the places situated between Villa
La Angostura and San Martin de Los Andes, thus you can also take
other starting points for your trip. The one we are going to describe
now begins at Villa La Angostura and gives you the chance to visit
two national parks: Nahuel Huapi and Lanin. You shouldn't miss this
trip, some of the most wonderful lakes and forests in the region
and the most secluded places are awaiting you.

There are 184 km from Bariloche to San Martin de Los Andes, only
40 of which are still riprap, the rest are already asphalted. You
will need at least one entire day to take this excursion, or better
yet, two or three days, if possible. You can find lodging either
at Villa La Angostura or San Martin de Los Andes and, during the
summer season, hostels and campings function inside the National
Park. If you plan to take the trip in only one day, it is better
to take this road up to San Martin de Los Andes and go back through
Junin de Los Andes and Alicura (routes 234, 40 and 237). It's 260
km in all, but they are completely paved.

The journey

From Vila La Angostura you take national route 231 to Portezuelo.
Eleven kilometers later you change to route 234. As you approach
the village, the Nahuel Huapi Lake becomes visible, and also two
other lakes: the Correntoso (Swift) Lake, ideal for salmon-fishing,
and the Espejo (Mirror), which was given this name because of its
clear waters, and which has a beautiful panoramic viewpoint and
also a camping area with benches and tables where bonfire making
is allowed. The road goes on - this is the most solitary part of
the journey - skirting part of the Pichi Traful river, until you
get to Traful. The slopes surrounding this path are densely populated
with coihue and colihue cane forests. At kilometer 130 you get to
the forest ranger's cabin and there is a lateral road that leads
to the north arm of Traful Lake. It goes 2 kilometers through a
narrow path that ends at the lake's side at the mouth of Pichi Traful
river. This is a splendid site to camp.

The route goes on, and after crossing the bridge over the river,
it goes up a steep slope through the forest. Five kilometers later
a small lake, the Escondido (Hidden) Lake, lies to the left of the
road. It is worth parking the car here to appreciate the beauty
of this area.

At this point the road goes into the valleys of lakes Villarino
and Falkner, separated from one another by a narrow isthmus. These
are two of the most beautiful lakes along the trip. The road allows
us to see the lake from above, then it goes down along the isthmus
and crosses the river by the same name. At this place we find Lake
Villarino's Inn, a fishers' inn, which provides varied services
according to the season. From this point on there is one km of good
places to camp on the Lake Falkner's side.
The road goes through a wide valley where you will find, at kilometer
141, to your left, the breathtaking Vullinaco waterfall. There's
a parking place here, and it is worth making a stop to admire the
place. Shortly afterwards you arrive to National Park Lanin's entrance.
It is a wide log arcade which separates both national parks. As
far as km 149 the wide valley of Lake Hermoso (Beautiful) opens
up in front of the traveller's eyes. A gendarmerie control regulates
the cordilleran paths between Traful and Hua Hum.

History of the place: Park Diana reserve

The Lake Hermoso Valley was first populated in the '40s by German
families who opened an inn and a sawmill. Red deers coming from
Collunco Ranch entered through this inn and they began to gradually
occupy the Cordilleran valleys, thus starting the activity of high
hunting in this region. In the mid '60s, these lands were bought
by an Austrian industry man, by the name Vogel, who loved high hunting
and at the end of that decade turned the area into a gigantic hunting
place which he called Park Diana's Zoological Reserve. Time went
by and Vogel, being very hard up, had to sell his property, and
so today, this reserve is a private property with restricted access,
exclusive residence and a hunting place.

We continue our journey ...

You go on for another two km from the gendarmerie post and get
to Lake Hermoso's shore, the most beautiful of this journey's lakes:
it is a small lake, surrounded by forest and with a beach that faces
west, very sunny and sheltered from the wind. There's a camping
place, a storehouse, some vacational houses and a pathway which
goes along the southern side of the lake. The road goes on up to
Lake Machonico, where the landscape is drier. As you go on toward
San Martin de Los Andes the road slowly goes up along Culebra (Snake)
Creek. It is worth sticking out your head to look left as you cross
the bridge over Hermoso River, to admire the narrow steep gorge
through which the creek flows.
Later on the road goes down the wide Pil Pil river valley, which
has been long inhabited by natives called mapuche. A romantic landscape
of hills and forest surrounds you.

Close to San Martin de Los Andes, at km 171, there's a detour that
takes you to Ski Center Chapelco. Further on another detour on the
left leads to summer cottage Quina Quina. Finally, as you draw near
the end of our journey, you see Catritre Beach on the left and the
beginning of Lake Lacar southern shore, along which you go on until
you get to San Martin de Los Andes, through Costanera Avenue.

How to get to San Martin de Los Andes?

By car from Buenos Aires: take National route 5 up to Santa Rosa,
La Pampa, route 35 up to General Acha, La Pampa, State Route 20
until Colonia 25 de Mayo, and national routes 151 up to Neuquen,
Neuquen, 237 up to Collon Cura, 40 until La Rinconada and 234 going
through Junin de Los Andes up to San Martin de Los Andes. Distance:
1,650 km.
By plane: Chapelco Airport, Aviador Carlos Campos, 20 km away.
Airway companies: Aerolineas Argentinas, SW. There are different
fares according to how far in advance you buy the ticket.
By bus:
Buses: via Bariloche, TAC, Albus, Cantenario, El Valle.